pages of twist

01 : the void

The Void
[dystopian, fantasy ]

"A dream is a wish your heart makes."

Lokheil, a child devoid of materialistic things, possessed only one thing: a book too powerful for the world. Born and grew up in the Land of Divinity, where nobles rule and oppress those living in dire conditions, Lokheil navigates life's harsh realities with only her dream and the strange book. But does a dream ever come true, or does it forever remain only a fantasy?

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"What do you think humans should do to eradicate the bad?"

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Lokheil clutches Her heart with her bloodied palm, throat scratching at her guttural scream, tears streaming down her bloodied face. Despite growing up behind the tall and thick walls surrounding their city; Despite having no education; Despite the hell and the things she went through; Lokheil had a dream. And that is to cross the tall borders and live happily ever after with her loved ones--- if she would have one, that is.

When she was ten years old, hiding from her abusers, she stumbled upon a lone and foreign book. Despite the tears blurring her vision, the book glinted under the sun. It was different from the other normal books, outcasted and put away with the other abandoned and destroyed things.

Lokheil held the book to her chest, relief tears streaming down her cheeks, embracing just how similar they were—an outcast, overlooked, neglected. Its contents consisted of weird-looking shapes and letters she couldn't be bothered to read. Well, it's not like she can't read; the book is just weird. That is probably the reason why she's so attached to it.

Three years later, she still had the same dream. Because of that, she chose not to feel envious or jealous of the other kids around her, pampered and spoiled by their parents, with a silver spoon in their mouths. So, Lokheil doesn't feel any jealousy; she instead tries to be happy for them.

She grew up and had a friend, a kind and funny one. They met in an alleyway hiding from the soldiers, Lokheil hugging the bread she stole from a stall while the other kid hides an apple beneath her shirt. They immediately got along, laughing at the soldiers' frustrated expressions when they realized the two little thieves had slipped through their fingers.

She grew up with the outcasted book and her thief friend, their perilous journey worth reminiscing about. Like all the other kids, Lokheil believes in fantasy. But unlike the other kids, she knew what she is capable of. How deep and unrealistic her imagination goes.

It was one sunny day, not really an ideal day to steal when people can be seen everywhere. Traders with their camels, Nobles with either their pets or chauffeurs, Merchants busy promoting their goods to the passersby, and just normal people strolling around the city.

Lokheil hides behind a basket, waiting for the storekeeper to turn his back so she could grab any food her short arms can reach. Then she suddenly heard the storekeeper talking to an elder woman about this cursed book, forbidden, and too powerful for the world. A book that can grant something— Whatever, at the moment she was too busy finding the perfect tempo to grab food to actually eavesdrop, she was starving.

With years of thieving experience, she snatched the plastic-wrapped food, silently whooping in triumph when the storekeeper still had his back turned— Oblivious to the stealing scheme happening behind him. Lokheil ran her way to their meeting place.

"Have you heard about that powerful book?" she asked one day, while nibbling on the stolen bread, the delicious taste putting both of them in good mood.